


Fever

by st_aurafina



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-15
Updated: 2010-06-15
Packaged: 2017-10-10 03:18:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/94883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_aurafina/pseuds/st_aurafina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Influenza strikes the team at PPTH.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fever

**Author's Note:**

> Comment-fic written for Mara G.

When influenza sweeps through the building, House orders his department to keep working on their case. House knows this contravenes all PPTH's infectious disease protocols, but Cuddy doesn't say a word about it. House also knows she's here at work to avoid bringing the virus home to Rachel and Lucas. He wants to engage her in an argument of pot versus kettle, but she hides in her office with the humidifier on, and he can't see her through the fogged up glass.

Taub goes to war with the virus - he swabs mouths and takes sputum samples from any willing parties. He works in the lab with Kleenex stuffed up his nose until he can identify the viral strain of influenza, its source and genetic make-up. Then, safe in the the knowledge that it is Influenza A and nothing exotic, he can collapse on the sofa in the doctor's lounge and drink home-made soup. House eyes the soup greedily - it looks like it smells delicious - but Taub clutches the bowl to his chest defensively. House doesn't think, in his current state, that he can take Taub down without spilling the soup.

Foreman and Thirteen care for each other surreptitiously - nobody ever catches them at it, but one of them is always tucked in a blanket while the other hovers attentively. They hand ORS and Tylenol to each other and the atmosphere of camaraderie between them infuriates House.

Chase rubs Vicks on his chest and eats Vegemite with a spoon and somehow this gets him through. House tries the Vegemite while Chase is working on blood samples in the lab. It tastes vile, even to his cold-addled taste buds. House would never admit it, but he has a grudging respect for the fact that Chase has eaten half the jar.

Wilson's office is no escape, either; the desk is piled with sample packs of all the latest antivirals. He doesn't mention the fact that medications like this hastened Amber's death but he obsessively checks all possible interactions and side-effects, then cautiously and uselessly underdoses himself. House knows there is a point to be made here, but he can't quite make his mouth form the words.

In the end, House rides the fever out in the morgue, sweating in the crisp refrigerated air and watching reality warp around him.


End file.
